Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-07-07
AN OLD KENTUCKY HOME



Characteristic Features of the Most Incon-
venient Houses Ever Devised.
The homestead was of square, rough
hewn blocks of granite, and had been
built before the days of professional
architects by former Governor of the
State, who was a stone-mason in early
life, and worked honestly at his trade
until the people called him into another
sphere of action. The house was at
once thoroughly comfortable and ex-
tremely inconvenient; additions had
been made to the main building at diff
ferent times, with no idea of general
effect. From the broad front porch
one entered at once large, high room,
which was parlor, library and sitting
room all in one; and very attractive
it was with cheerful paper and
carpet, comfortable rocking chairs and
sofas, and big open fireplace with great
brass-knobbed andirons. Opposite the
front door and leading to the back
porch was a hall, from which a door
opened directly upon some steps lead
ing TO what was called the big .'up-
cessity entered head-foremost as one
assembled the stairs, took in the main
body of the house. and held ALWAYS
three double beds, with ample space
for as many more when the house was
crowded. Two bedrooms opened from
the parlor below, and from the back
one another flight of stairs assembled
to rooms above, known rs the lit
tie upstairs" The characteristic
feature of the building was the entire
lack of any means of communication
between the two parts of the upper
floor. In the large room over the par
Tor one might hear plainly the voices
of the occupants of an adjacent room,
but to reach them it was necessary to
descend one stairway, traverse the
whole length of the house, and ascend
another flight Above the little up
stairs was the attic; here hung fes-
ICONS of okra, red peppers, onions and
garden herbs for seasoning; in the COR
ners were bags of nuts and punches of
popcorn, and apples aud peaches
were spread on deal boards to
dry; there were bits of old
harness, a ragged side-saddle that was
to be recovered some day. shotgun
or two, and some hunting-coats; and
in dark, shelving recess were some
relics of the day when Uncle Doctor
was q medical student and practicing
physician-some bones which Mr.
Venus would have classified as human
various" These were sources of in
finite terror to every child and negro
on the place. and made visit to the
attic after dusk 4 perilous expedition,
necessitating ample companionship
and subject to sudden panics.
From the front bedroom down-st airs
for it was impossible to 20
anywhere about the house with
out passing through somebody's
private apartment-three or four
steps led down to porch,
open only on two sides, and these so
trellised and covered with vines that
it was the most delightful of summer
dining-rooms. From this porch
opened capacious storerooms, and
just around the corner was the kitch-
en-, large disorderly, often crowded.
of most toothsome and abundant fare.
AT one corner of the porch stood an
iron-bound hogshead, which caught
and stored the rain-water from the
roof. We used to listen in summer
storm TO the raindrops on the shin
giles, and hear them gutter along
through the tin spout down to this old
receptacle and when the rain was
over, when the fresh. sweet, earthly
odor was abroad, and the sun was
hanging glistening jewels on every
flower and shrub we would climb
upon the balustrade of the porch and
peer eagerly into the depths of the old
hogshead. looking for the real dia-
monds that the negroes said were
sometimes brought down by the rain.
After breakfast there was always a
group of negroes about the porch,
each one armed with tin cup or plate,
and waiting for the daily allowance of
1nolasses, sugar and coffee to be given
out from the store-room, hoping also
for some special tidbit from the re-
mains of the meal
Walks made from fiat. irregular
stones led from the kitchen door to
various points in the yard; to the lot
where the milking was done; to the
smoke house. the duck-pond and
poultry-yard. and the line of orderly
cabins known as 1.-The quarters; to
the garden, with its picturesque min
Cling of fruit and vegetables and old
fashioned flowers; and to the cisterns,
to whose water the limestone rock
gave the same tonic quality that 1t i'm
parts TO the blue grass, making this
the finest grazing country in the
world. Near the garden was the circu-
lar ice house. a most seductive build
inc, whose slanting roof began about
two feet above the ground, and was
delightfully."- messy and slippery.
There we would slide by the hour. and
many were the rents-not only in our
clothes, but in our small persons rs
well-wlich were due to its ragged
shingles and bent nails. We knew
also the delicious GOODNESS and dimnesS
of the interior on a hot summer day,
and enjoyed tossing aside the damp
straw and saw dust, and dragging out
the great crystal blocks. especially II
there was ice cream in prospect Fatty
y. Senlpie. in atlantic
SAVAGE PATAGONlANS-